Reclining back rest for bed



Nov. 16, 1965 w. G. LEVY RECLINING BACK REST FOR BED Filed April 10, 1963 PIC-L3 United States Patent 3,217,341 RECLINING BACK REST FOR BED William G. Levy, North Conway, N.l-I., assignor to Yield House, Inc., North Conway, N.H., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed Apr. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 271,907 2 Claims. (Cl. -327) The present invention relates to an adjustable back rest for a bed.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a novel and improved hinge support for a reclining back rest for a bed which is simple in construction, is readily adjusted to any desired angle of support, and which will maintain said reclining back rest firmly in the desired position of adjustment.

The reclining back rest herein illustrated comprises a cushion mounted on a rigidly constructed frame and adapted to be set with the lower edge in varying positions on the mattress and with the upper edge leaned backwardly against a vertical backing surface which may, for example, be a headboard or a wall adjacent the head of the bed, the angle of adjustment depending generally on how far the bottom edge of the cushion is placed away from said vertical backing surface. If the bottom edge of the cushion is permitted to slip or if the bed moves away from the adjacent wall, the cushion is shifted from its adjusted position.

In carrying out the invention, hinge connections of ad justable length are provided between the vertical backing surface and points along a horizontal line approximately half-way between the upper and lower edges of the cushion. So long as the distance between the pivotal connection with the vertical backing surface and the pivotal connection with the cushion is held constant, any tendency of the cushion to slip down or to move away from the vertical backing surface is effectively countered,

In the preferred form of the invention shown, the adjustable hinge connection referred to takes the form of a pair of pivotally connected links which are hinged at their outer ends, respectively, to the vertical backing surface and to the mid-section of the reclining back-rest cushion. An adjustable frictioning device is provided in the pivotal connection between each pair of links which tends to fix the angle between said links and, thereby, to fix the length of the hinge connection between the pivot points on the vertical backing surface and on the reclining back rest.

The several features of the invention should be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing portions of a mattress and two adjustable back-rest cushions together with their adjustable hinge connections, one of said backrest cushions being shown in a sloping or reclining position, the other being shown in a fully retracted upright position;

FIG. 2 is a view looking from the right of parts shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of one of the hinge connections shown in a relatively extended position between pivot points on the vertical support surface and on the back-rest cushion;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the hinge connection as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the friction hinge connection shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but in its fully extended position; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge connection as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing, a bed mattress is shown at 20 and a vertically disposed backboard bracket at 22 fastened to an adjacent wall abutting the head of the bed, it being understood that the bracket 22 may be alternatively attached to a headboard attached to or separate from the bed if available. In FIG. 1 two back-rest cushions 24, 26 are shown in different positions of adjustment, backrest cushion 24 having been moved away from the wall and tilted to a reclining position, while back-rest cushion 26 has been moved to a fully retracted position against the wall. Each of the back-rest cushions as, for example, the back-rest cushion 24 is constructed with a rigidly constructed frame generally indicated at 28.

In accordance with the invention, each of the backrest cushions 24 and 26 is supported by two identical hinge connections which are attached to the mid-section of the cushion frame 28 and are of a length adjustably fixed to support the back-rest cushion securely in the desired position of adjustment. Each hinge connection comprises two pivotally connected links 39 and 32, the link 30 at its outer end being pivotally connected at 34 to a fixture 36 on the backboard bracket 22 which is here shown as fastened into the abutting wall 40 of the room in which the bed is placed. The outer end of link 32 is pivotally connected at 42 to a fixture 44 secured to the frame 28 of the back-rest cushion at a point approximately half-way between the top and bottom edges of the cushion.

An important feature of applicants improved hinge construction consists in the provision of an adjustable friction in the pivot between the links 30, 32, As best shown in FIG. 5, the links 30, 32 are each formed with a flanged lower edge. The links are pivotally connected by a pivot pin 52 provided with an enlarged head having a screw driver receiving slot and at its other end threaded for engagement with a nut 54 which is keyed against rotation by the engagement of a recessed portion 56 thereof with an abutment 58 formed in the flanged edge of the link 32. A friction washer 6t) sleeved on the pivot pin between the links 30, 32 acts when the pivot pin 52 is tightened against its nut 54 to friction the links 30, 32 against relative rotational movement on the pin 52.

The friction connection above described, when properly adjusted, provides a degree of stiffness in the joints between links 30, 32 to fix the joint and thereby to fix the length of the connection provided by the two links 30, 32 against either elongation or contraction so that the back-rest cushion will be maintained in any desired position of adjustment in which the bottom of the cushion rests against the mattress and the top rests against the back wall or headboard as the case may be, or alternatively in which the cushion is fully retracted. It has been found that the tie thus provided between the back wall and the mid-section of the back-rest cushion is sufficiently strong to prevent any movement of the back rest from the desired position of adjustment. The stiffness provided in the joint between links 30 and 32 is, however, not suflicient to prevent the user from pulling the back-rest cushion out from the wall the desired distance or from returning the cushion to its retracted position.

It will be noted from FIGS. 5 and 6 that the frictioned hinge between the links 30 and 32 is so constructed that the joint cannot be fully straightened out. The edge of the abutment 62 which forms one end of the flanged bottom edge of link 30 engages with the edge of the abutment 58 which forms the adjacent end of the flanged bottom edge of link 32 to limit the straightening move ment of the links to less than a straight angle, so that the reclining back rest can readily be collapsed from any adjusted position by pushing the same firmly in a backward direction against the wall. Also, the pivotal connections of the links 30 and 32 with the back wall and with the mid-section of the back-rest cushion permit the cushion to be moved freely up and down and to b til d to any desired angle,

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. A reclining support back rest for a bed having a vertical head backing surface which comprises a reclining back-rest cushion having a rigidly constructed frame adapted to be located alternatively in a retracted upright position and in an adjusted reclining position in which the bottom edge rests on the bed and the upper edge rests on said backing surface, and adjustable hinge connections between said vertical head backing surface and cushion frame, each said hinge connection comprising a pair of pivotally connected links, normally folded to form a downwardly projecting elbow, said links having hinge connections respectively with a portion of said vertical head backing surface and with a portion of said cushion frame intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof, said hinge connections being disposed adjacent one another for the retracted upright position of said cushion frame, and a frictioning device in the pivotal connection between the links of each pair substantially stiffening said connection to maintain of sufficient strength a fixed length of adjustment of each said pair of links for any said adjusted position and thereby to resist slippage of the backboard on the bed to a horizontal position while permitting freedom of adjustment of said back-board by the operator between a collapsed upright and a said adjusted position.

2. For use with a bed having associated therewith an upright head backing surface, a reclining back-rest cushion having a rigidly constructed cushion frame, and adjustable hinge connections between said head backing surface and cushion frame for adjustment of said cushion between a retracted upright position and tilting rest positions against the bed and backing surface, each said hinge connection comprising a pair of pivotally connected links, normally folded to form a downwardly projecting elbow, said links having hinge connections respectively with a portion of said vertical head backing surface and with a portion of said cushion frame intermediate the top and bottom edges thereof, said hinge connections being disposed adjacent one another for the retracted upright position of said cushion frame, a pivotal connection between said links, a frictioning device between the links of each pair substantially stiffening said connection to maintain a fixed length of adjustment of each said pair of links for any position of adjustment to which said back rest cushion is moved while permitting freedom of adjustment of said backboard by the operator between a collapsedupright and a said adjusted position, and abutments on the links of each pair adjacent said pivotal connection arranged to be engaged by the opening movement of said hinge to limit said opening movement to less than a straight locking angle.

References Cited by the Examiner FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A RECLING SUPPORT BACK REST FOR A BED HAVING A VERTICAL HEAD BACKING SURFACE WHICH COMPRISES A RECLING BACK-REST CUSHION HAVING A RIGIDLY CONSTRUCTED FRAME ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED ALTERNATIVELY IN A RETRACTED UPRIGHT POSITION AND IN AN ADJUSTED RECLINING POSITION IN WHICH THE BOTTOM EDGE RESTS ON THE BED AND THE UPPER EDGE RESTS ON SAID BACKING SURFACE, AND ADJUSTABLE HINGE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAID VERTICAL HEAD BACKING SURFACE AND CUSHION FRAME, EACH SAID HINGE CONNECTION COMPRISING A PAIR OF PIVOTALLY CONNECTED LINKS, NORMALLY FOLDED TO FORM A DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING ELBOW, SAID LINKS HAVING HINGE CONNECTIONS RESPECTIVELY WITH A PORTION OF SAID VERTICAL HEAD BACKING SURFACE AND WITH A PORTION OF SAID CUSHION FRAME INTERMEDIATE THE TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES THEREOF, SAID HINGE CONNECTIONS BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT ONE ANOTHER FOR THE RETRACTED UPRIGHT POSITION OF SAID CUSHION FRAME, AND A FRICTIONING DEVICE IN THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LINKS OF EACH PAIR SUBSTANTIALLY STIFFENING SAID CONNECTION TO MAINTAIN OF SUFFICIENT STRENGTH A FIXED LENGTH OF ADJUSTMENT OF EACH SAID PAIR OF LINKS FOR ANY SAID ADJUSTED POSITION AND THEREBY TO RESIST SLIPPAGE OF THE BACKBOARD ON THE BED TO A HORIZONTAL POSITION WHILE PERMITTING FREEDOM OF ADJUSTMENT OF SAID BACK-BOARD BY THE OPERATOR BETWEEN A COLLAPSED UPRIGHT AND A SAID ADJUSTED POSITION. 